Fans threaten to boycott the Thai team to support coach Masatada Ishii

(Dan Tri) - According to Thairath newspaper, Thai fans are taking actions to express their anger towards the national team after coach Masatada Ishii was suddenly fired.

On October 21st, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) made a shocking decision by officially dismissing head coach Masatada Ishii. The organization stated that the reason for his dismissal was that "his working direction and team development strategy were no longer suitable."

Football Association of Thailand (FAT) caused a shock by announcing the dismissal of coach Masatada Ishii (Photo: Getty).

This decision was made despite the Japanese coach having brought about many positive and noteworthy changes to the "War Elephants" during his time in charge, in addition to an impressive performance in the 6-1 victory against Taiwan (China) in the 4th match of Group D of the final qualifying round for the 2027 Asian Cup.

The Japanese coach also helped the Thai national team achieve a 53% win rate (the second highest in history) and climb to 96th in the FIFA rankings - the team's highest ranking in the past 17 years.

Following the shocking move by FAT, Thai football fans have unanimously expressed their outrage and called for a boycott of the national team. The first reaction was to urge fans not to attend the friendly match between Thailand and Singapore at Rajamangala Stadium on November 13th.

FAT's posts on Facebook also faced a wave of intense negativity. Specifically, the live video of the press conference introducing new manager Anthony Hudson received 1,700 angry emojis out of a total of 3,000 reactions, demonstrating the deep dissatisfaction of the fans.

One fan even went directly to the FAT headquarters, holding up a banner to express their dissatisfaction. The fan stated: "Coach Ishii achieved a 53% win rate, helping the national team qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals. Why did the FAT make the decision to fire him at such a crucial time?"

Thai fans went to the headquarters of the Football Association of Thailand to protest (Photo: Thairath).

Not only fans, but also experts and many famous Thai football players have publicly sided with coach Masatada Ishii. They unanimously criticized the FAT and its president, Madam Pang, for the abrupt decision to dismiss coach Ishii, causing instability and confusion in public opinion.

Amidst the instability of Thai football, coach Ishii urged fans to remain calm and support the team: “Since the FAT announced the termination of my contract and that of the coaching staff members, I believe many people have been shocked and saddened.

We have only one ultimate goal: to get the Thai national team to the 2030 World Cup. That's not just our dream, but the dream of all Thai football fans.

That's why we need to change our attitude (not boycott the team) when Thailand plays Sri Lanka and hosts Turkmenistan at home. The friendly match against Singapore on November 13th is also important.

"With every cheer from the fans, the players take one or two steps forward. I myself find great encouragement from that. This is the time for Thai football to unite and move forward," Coach Ishii said for the first time after being sacked.

Thai fans expressed outrage over the FAT's decision to sack coach Masatada Ishii (Photo: Getty).

Thailand's immediate goal is to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup. Currently, the "War Elephants" are second in Group D of the final qualifying round with 9 points, level with Turkmenistan but behind them due to an inferior head-to-head record.

Thailand has two crucial matches remaining: an away game against Sri Lanka on November 18th and a decisive home game against Turkmenistan on March 31st, 2026.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/co-dong-vien-doa-tay-chay-tuyen-thai-lan-de-ung-ho-hlv-masatada-ishii-20251026094258525.htm